RG Steel - Wheeling Division (Mingo Junction, Ohio)

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The operations of the former Wheeling – Pittsburgh Steel Corporation, were purchased by Russian steelmaker Severstal AG from Esmark in August 2008, then by RG Steel in 2010.

One of the most versatile plants in the United States, Wheeling is both a fully integrated as well an electric furnace plant, giving it unlimited flexibility in scheduling cost-efficient production based on input costs. Its annualized steel production capability is 2.4 million tons. The steelmaking facilities are located at Steubenville and Mingo Junction (HERE), directly across the Ohio River from Mountain State Carbon, of which RG Steel owns 50 percent, to supply its blast furnace coking needs.

Cold rolling is performed at Yorkville, Ohio, and orders can then be galvanized on the two coating lines at its neighboring Martins Ferry, Ohio, facility. Consuming industries for Wheeling products include tubing, pipe, container, appliance, automotive parts, construction and agricultural. Some of Wheeling’s output is sent to the RG Steel wholly owned subsidiary Wheeling Corrugating Company.

History

1872 An Iron Works is erected and plans are laid out for a town. Oil refineries, brickyards, copper mills, planing mills, coal shafts and coke ovens soon follow.

1880 The Iron Works is taken over by Mingo Iron Works Company with a 238 foot shaft near the depot to supply high quality coal. Coke ovens and blast furnace (“Isabelle”) are constructed. The Iron works is later merged into Auction Iron and Steel Company which expands into the Mingo Bottoms area and includes a bar mill and nail factory as well as a steel plant, later known as the Laughlin and Junction Steel Company.

1894 Aetna Standard Iron and Steel Company purchases Laughlin and Junction Steel Company and adds continuous and finishing mills.

1901 The entire mill works is bought by the Carnegie Company, Carnegie-Illinois Group, a subsidiary of U. S. Steel Corporation and produces 8” and 10” sheet bars for hot mills, and slabs and billets.

1941-1945 During WW II, Carnegie-Illinois Mill produces deck plates for war ships and submarines, and is commended by the U.S. Government for record breaking production.

1945 Wheeling Steel purchases the Mingo plant from Carnegie-Illinois and buys up surrounding lands in Mingo Bottoms.

1968 The merger of Wheeling Steel and Pittsburgh Steel Corporations into Wheeling-Pittsburgh Steel Corporation creates the ninth largest steelmaker in U.S.

1985 Wheeling Pittsburgh Steel Corporation is forced into Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

1991 Wheeling-Pittsburgh Steel Corporation emerges from bankruptcy.

1996 United Steel Workers of America strike Wheeling-Pitt Steel. The strike lasts over 300 days, ending in the summer of 1997.

2004 Wheeling-Pittsburgh installs a state of the art electric arc furnace for $115 million.

2008 August, Severstal Corporation (Russian based company) purchases Wheeling- Pittsburgh Steel plant in Mingo and shuts down all production. In the same year it sells the idled plant to Pittsburgh based Esmark.

2010 The Mingo plant was purchased by Baltimore based RG Steel with plans to reopen the plant when demand for steel improves.

2011 June, under funded and without true direction, RG Steels files for bankruptcy. At the time only 25 workers were employed at the Mingo site.

2012 September, the plant is sold by court ordered auction to Buffalo based Frontier Industrial Corporation for $20 million. Frontier Industrial has not revealed its future plans.

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